Apple keeps iPhone 17e price at $599 while doubling storage and adding magsafe

Tuesday 03 - 09:19

By: Dakir Madiha

Apple keeps iPhone 17e price at $599 while doubling storage and adding magsafe

Apple has introduced the iPhone 17e as the newest entry-level model in the iPhone 17 family, keeping the starting price at 599 dollars while doubling base storage to 256 gigabytes compared with last year’s iPhone 16e. The device will be available in more than 70 countries, with preorders opening on 4 March at 6:15 a.m. Pacific time and general availability beginning on 11 March. Powered by the A19 chip built on a 3 nanometer process, the iPhone 17e matches the main iPhone 17 in core performance and includes a six core CPU, a four core GPU with dedicated neural accelerators, and a sixteen core Neural Engine tuned for Apple Intelligence features such as on device translation and visual recognition. Apple also integrates its in house C1X 5G modem, which the company says delivers up to twice the cellular data speeds of the C1 modem in the iPhone 16e while using about 30 percent less power than the modem in the iPhone 16 Pro.

A major addition for this generation is the return of MagSafe, which was absent from the 16e and limited that model to 7.5 watt Qi wireless charging without magnetic alignment. The iPhone 17e now supports MagSafe and Qi2 charging at up to 15 watts, enabling faster wireless charging and compatibility with the larger ecosystem of MagSafe accessories. On the back, a 48 megapixel Fusion camera records 4K Dolby Vision video at up to 60 frames per second and offers a 2x telephoto option with optical quality using computational photography. Portrait mode now automatically records depth data when it detects people, dogs, or cats, allowing users to adjust focus and background blur after the shot.

The handset features a 6.1 inch Super Retina XDR OLED display that continues to run at 60 hertz, remaining the only current generation iPhone without a 120 hertz ProMotion refresh rate. Apple equips the front glass with Ceramic Shield 2, which the company claims improves scratch resistance by a factor of three over the previous version used on the iPhone 16e, and the phone carries an IP68 rating for resistance to dust and water. The iPhone 17e comes in black, white, and a new soft pink finish, with storage options of 256 or 512 gigabytes. It ships with iOS 26 and includes Apple Intelligence capabilities such as Live Translation, Visual Intelligence, and Call Screening, bringing the same core software experience found on higher tier models to a lower price point.

From a market perspective, Apple presents the iPhone 17e as a value focused device meant to broaden access to the iPhone ecosystem. Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing, said the phone combines strong performance and popular features at an attractive price. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has reported that Apple plans to promote the model aggressively in emerging economies and among enterprise customers, using the combination of the A19 chip, the C1X modem, and a 599 dollar price tag to compete in markets where more expensive iPhone variants may be out of reach.